DESCRIPTION

Antique early-20th Century French rare and magnificent six piece tea and coffee service, in the Louis XVI-style, composing of a huge kettle on stand with burner, coffee pot, teapot, covered sugar bowl, hot water jug and cream jug, each piece with swirl-fluted upper bodies, the lower bodies chased and embossed with armorials and allegories and ribbon-topped cartouches engraved with a family crest, cast handles terminating with ram's head junctions, the massive tea kettle chased with large panels depicting allegories of the four seasons, supported by a stand resting on hoof feet and embellished by large cast ram's heads.

Each piece engraved with the important armorials of the French noble family de Lestrange, with Latin motto "VIS VIRTUTEM FOVET" and a Coronet above. The service is exceptionally heavy and impressive (7 kilos of high-grade silver), incredibly crisp and detailed.

Each piece is Hallmarked French silver (950 high-standard), Paris, year 1900's, Maker's mark for D. THOREL, French silversmiths and retailers active in Paris in the late 19th / early 20th century.